The capture rate of an ion by a symmetrical top quadrupole Original Research Article

The rate constant for the ion-symmetrical top quadrupole capture is estimated using a classical variant of the microcanonical version of the transition state theory. The symmetrical top quadrupole reacts faster at all energies than the corresponding linear quadrupole. The dependence of the capture rate on the dimensionless energy parameter B3, which determined the effect of energy on the capture rate, deviates much from linearity even at the lowest energies. Another dimensionless parameter, the molecular parameter ζ, determines the contributions of the orbital and rotational components to the total rotational momentum of the system. The temperature dependence of the capture rate constant is estimated for both the extreme regions of ζ: the region of orbital momentum preponderance and the region of rotational momentum preponderance. In the first region the capture rate for the symmetrical top quadrupole is slightly faster than for the linear quadrupole. This difference practically vanishes in the second region.